By Judith Cockram, PhD
Research Methodology
The project incorporated an applied methodology, with research being
undertaken using methods that maximised the relevance and on-going value of
findings. Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to gather
information from agency workers. Qualitative methods were utilised with women
with disabilities who have experienced family and domestic violence.
In addition, a review of the most recent published research in the area of
disability and domestic violence was conducted and an annotated bibliography
compiled. It is intended that the annotated bibliography of recent research,
which is provided in Appendix 1, will provide a knowledge and information
resource for agencies and organisations working in the areas of women,
disability and family and domestic violence.
Quantitative Data
A questionnaire was mailed to 231 disability, domestic violence, community and
government organisations in Western Australia that may have had contact with
women with disabilities who had experienced family and domestic violence. As
many organisations and individuals make extensive use of electronic
communications, the questionnaire was also made available on the Internet.
Instructions were included in the postal surveys on how to access and complete
the survey online.
In addition, ACROD (the National Industry Association for Disability Services),
Western Australian Division, distributed the survey to over 360 agencies and
organisations through their own email system.
Covering instructions outlined how to access the survey document attached to
email. It could be printed, completed and returned by post or completed and
returned by email. Information on how to access the survey online was also
included. Assurances of confidentiality were given.
Agencies may have received the questionnaire through more than one source.
In trying to reach as many agencies as possible it was hoped that any level of
saturation would encourage a greater level of response.
A total of 107 completed questionnaires were returned (79 by post, 15 via the
Internet, 7 by fax and 6 were emailed). Of these, 35 agencies reported they did
not keep records relating to a women's disability or had not had any contact with
women with disabilities who had experienced family and domestic violence over
the two years preceding the research. The remaining 72 agencies reported they
had women in the target group accessing their services in the past two years.
The questionnaire responses provided information on:
- agency's primary service;
- types of services the agency offered to women with disabilities who had
experience family or domestic violence;
- accessibility of the service for women with disabilities;
- number of women with disabilities who had experienced family or domestic
violence accessing the service in the last two years;
- number of women who had acquired a disability as a result of abuse, and the
number who had a history of abuse before the onset of the disability;
- number of women from a non-English speaking or indigenous background;
- type of violence that the women experienced;
- perpetrator of the violence;
- estimated period of time that the women had experienced violence;
- types of interventions that had occurred and level of satisfaction with these
interventions;
- number of women who had children who were involved in the process of
intervention and
- what would help them to respond more effectively to the needs of women
with disabilities who experienced family and domestic violence.
Qualitative Data
Agencies were invited to participate more fully in the research by way of
undertaking a semi-structured interview. A list of agency representatives willing
to be interviewed about their involvement with women with disabilities who had
experienced family and domestic violence was compiled from the returned questionnaires.
Thirty-one interviews were conducted either face to face or by
telephone. Nine interviewees were from domestic violence services including
refuges, 9 from disability services, 5 women's health workers, 4 from family
support services, and a representative from Western Australian Police Services,
and a sexual assault referral centre. A lawyer and a psychologist who have
extensive experience in the area also participated in the interviews.
Another list comprised agencies (including many on the first list) willing to put the
research team in touch with women they believed would agree to a personal
interview. The agency made the initial contact with the client and the principal
researcher then approached those women who consented to participate.
However, only three of the women came from this source. Some agencies had
also included information about the research in their newsletters and community
radio also included details in their community bulletins. This meant that most of
the women who participated self referred.
Profile of the women interviewed
Thirty-two face-to-face interviews were conducted with the women by the
principal researcher. The women who participated in the study came from a
wide variety of backgrounds and circumstances. All of the women lived in the
metropolitan area of Perth. Three women were from non-English speaking
background, and three were indigenous women. The range of disability included
fifteen women with physical disabilities that resulted from injury, chronic disease
or congenital conditions, 8 women with an intellectual disability or cognitive
impairment, 7 women with psychiatric disability and 2 with a sensory disability.
Women's age ranged from 22 to 61. All had significant histories of family and
domestic violence, in some cases within several relationships. Over one half of
the women had experienced childhood abuse.
It was recognised that the researchers were asking a great deal from the women
in the way of time and co-operation. Many of the women were at a stage in their
lives when they had every reason to exclude 'others' altogether in order to
concentrate on the process of rebuilding their futures. Many women, however,
welcomed the opportunity to participate in the hope that their stories would help
other women in similar circumstances. The researcher was vigilant in
addressing issues of confidentiality and anonymity, continually clarified the aims
and purpose of the research and the security of the data. Assurances were
given that no identifying information would be used in research.
As a central concern of this research was to give voice to women's experiences
of and reactions to domestic violence, qualitative research methods were used to
explore the women's subjective accounts of violence in their lives. Specific
questions to each informant were phrased informally often over a cup of coffee.
The naturalism of unstructured interviewing creates the illusion that the interview
is a 'conversation' (Oakley, 1981): one in which an informant can initiate
questions and elaborate answers (without prompting) just as much as the interviewer.
Interviews covered all topics the research was concerned about,
either raised by the woman herself, or introduced by the researcher. The
conversational nature of the interviews facilitated both more and careful listening
and the ability to return to past issues and events. It also helped the researcher
to notice and check any apparent contradictions. Although all interviews covered
the same ground, the women were able to introduce and emphasise experiences
in the discussion that were important to them.
The Project Reference Committee established a set of "Guidelines for Referral
and Support" for interviewing individual women to ensure that they were
supported appropriately throughout the research process. This is provided in
Appendix 2.
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